Potential developer of former Daly City campus pitches proposal to worried residents

Share this:

By Neil Gonzales | MediaNews, San Mateo County Times, Bay Area News Group

December 3, 2010 at 12:53 pm

The potential developer of the former Christopher Columbus School campus outlined a proposal to build 80 single-family houses on the site during a meeting Thursday night with residents opposed to such a project.

“It’s just getting more congested,” said Pam DiGiovanni, who lives adjacent to the property still owned by the Jefferson Elementary District.

But the district has struck an exclusive negotiating deal to potentially sell the old campus to Signature Homes for $18 million.

The development would feature two-story houses selling in the $750,000 price range. But it could also provide some units at below-market rates for low-income families.

Residents, however, have expressed concern that the project would lead to increased traffic, crime and pollution as well as parking problems in the neighborhood.

They also are worried that the project would have no adequate path for emergency vehicles to go in and out.

In addition, they want to preserve the services there now: two churches and programs for special-needs children and adults that lease space from the district.

“I don’t want that school to be sold because there are a lot of special-needs kids,” said Maria Gaitan, who has lived in the neighborhood for 30 years.

Moreover, residents argue that the site was originally donated about 50 years ago by a corporation for public use.

Signature Homes representatives told residents that the company will work with them on their concerns. “We will be transparent,” project manager Tom Quaglia told the audience of about 30 people in the district board room. “We’ll be responsive.”

The proposal still has to go through many steps in the planning process as well as public meetings, he and city officials also said.

The possible sale of Columbus — which was closed in 2004 because of declining enrollment — would help the district’s finances given today’s worrisome state economy, Superintendent Matteo Rizzo said.

The district could use the proceeds for capital improvements, he said. But some of the money could cover daily operational expenses if the district gets state permission for that use.

More in News

The city’s lawsuit in a California court accuses Equifax of violating state law by failing to implement reasonable security measures and not providing timely notice of the breach. It seeks tens of millions of dollars in civil penalties as well as restitution for some consumers.

BERKELEY — The leader of an “alt-right” group based in Vancouver, Washington, is set for a 2 p.m. rally at Sproul Plaza at UC Berkeley despite the cancellation of Free Speech Week events that were planned by a conservative student group and political provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos. Joey Gibson, the self-styled leader of Patriot Prayer, said in a video he posted...